Liquid metering device



June 30, 1942 L. BRYAN 2,287,829

LIQUID METERING DEVICE Filed May 3, 1940 INVENTOR F LLOYD BRYAN ATTORNEY Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIQUID METERING DEVICE Lloyd Bryan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Standard Oil Company of California, San

Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application May a, 1940, Serial No. 333,152

6 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing liquids. It relates particularly to apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantities of melted or liquid bituminous material for use in the manufacture, of mastic compositions, such as those of the C. S. McDonald Patent No.

1,984,649 which may be applied to pipe to form a corrosion resistant coating by apparatus such as that described and claimed in my joint Patent No. 2,186,361 with William R. Postlewaite.

. Heretofore melted bituminous materials have standard container is filled, the material subsequently being emptied from the container by gravity or by displacement with compressed air.

' In other cases the depth to which a container is been metered by noting the depth to which a parts of the weight tank and piping system cooperating to make those operations rapid and convenient, as will be apparent from the following description and drawing.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for weighing-and dispensing a predetermined amount of a liquid material, forexample melted asphalt or other bituminous substances.

Another object is to provide a semiautomatic means for accumulating a predetermined quantity of liquid in a container, and then displacing that liquid into a piping system with a minimum of equipment that will tend to become clogged or obstructed by the material being handled.

Another object is to provide a simple arrangement of a melting tank for asphalt or other bituminous material, a metering device for the part sectional view of an asphalt or other liquid metering device together'with a melting tank and a pug mill into which the asphalt is to be delivered.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of an alternative valve arrangement for the apparatus of Figure 1.

In the drawing, reference numeral Ill desig nates a tank provided with heating coils ll through which a hot fluid, such as steam or oil,

may be circulated from any suitable source to supply heat for melting the asphalt or other biturninous material i2 which is to be metered and dispensed. Desirably, tank I is insulated as at ii to prevent loss of heat from the melted material.

The metering or dispensing apparatus comprises generally a tank or container ll, insulated as at l to prevent cooling of the melted material. A cover plate It is secured to the walls of tank It and is provided with a yoke I1 suspended from scale It, which in turn is supported from a lever I9, pivoted at to a convenient support 2|. This arrangement permits metering tank II to be lifted by pulling downwardly on the left end of lever l9 so that the weight of tank It, and whatever liquid l2 may be contained within the tank, will be indicated on scale l8. If desired, a latch 22 maybe provided to holdv the left end of the lever in its lowest position for a purpose which will be further apparent below.

The piping which. connects tank H) with metering tank I4 is illustrated as comprising an outlet pipe 23 which is selectively connected by means of a three-way cock 2| to an asphalt inlet pipe 25 and an asphalt discharge pipe 25. Inlet pipe 25 is stationary'and may be supported by suitable means as indicated at 38.- Pipe 25 extends beneath yoke I1 and thence downwardly into metering tank ll through an opening 21 in the cover plate ii of that tank. An enlargement such as valve member 28 on the downwardly extending portion of pipe 25 serves to close opening 21 when metering tank I4 is lowered. This action not only seals the opening 21 but releases at least part of the weight of the metering tank I4 and its contents from scale I8 I and lever l9.

In order to displace the melted asphalt or other material i2 from metering tank ll, a ilexible means such as hose 29 is connected to a pipe nipple 30 in the cover plate ii of metering tank pipe 32, the latter leading to any suitable source of air or gas under pressure.

Asphalt discharge pipe 26 leads from threeway cock 24 to whatever apparatus is designed to receive the melted material, such as pug mill 33, pipe 26 desirably being inclined upwardly Ts shown, extending throughout the length 'of mill 33, and provided along its lower surface with spaced apertures 34 so that the asphalt charge will be sprayed or distributed uniformly into mill 33. Inclining pipe 26 assists in its complete emptying, as any residual liquid runs downwardly against the air flow and is blown out through apertures 34. Pug mill 33 may be of any desired type, in this example having one or more shafts 35 with paddles36 adapted to be rotated by means, such as a pulley 31, driven from any suitable source of power.

In operation, lever I9 is pulled downwardly so that metering tank l4 is suspended from support 2| and is free from contact with valve 23. Three-way cock 24 i's'turned so that asphalt will flow from melting tank l through pipes 23 and" 25 into metering tank l4, where its weight will beindicated by scale l3. As soon as the predetermined quantity of material is received in rangement could be made, and all those that are within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim: 1. Apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantitiescf a liquid, such as meltedbituminous material or the like, comprising a movable tank I2, as indicated by scale I6, three-way cock 24 is turned to shut off the flow of melted material into metering tank I4. Lever I3 is then released to lower metering tank l4 so that the aperture 21 in cover plate l6 will be closed by valve 26. Three-way cook 24 is then turned to the position indicated, placing pipes 25 and 26 in communication, and valve 3| is opened to permit air to enter metering tank l4 above the liquid 'level therein to displace'the' liquid upwardly through pipe 25, from which it willv flow into pipe 26 and thence to pug mill 33. As soon as metering tank l4 and pipe 26 are empty, as will be evidenced by the escape of air through apertures 34 in pipe 26, the air control valve 3| 'is closed. Lever I3 is then moved downwardly to tank for said liquid, saidtank having a closed bottom, means for weighing said tank and its liquid contents, a conduit independent of said tank and extending into the lower portion of said tank, valve means responsive to movement of said tank to close the top thereof at a predetermined point in its travel, and means for admitting a pressure fluid above the liquid in said tank to displace said liquid outwardly through said conduit when said tank is closed.

2. An apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantities of a liquid, suchas melted bituminous material or the like, comprising a movable tank for said liquid, means for weighing said tank and its liquid contents, a stationary conduit extending into the lower portion of said tank, a valve member carried by said conduit and a seat therefor carried by a wall of said tank to close the top thereof at a predetermined point in the travel of said tank, and means for admitting a pressure fluid above the liquid in said tank to displace said liquid outwardly through said conduit when said tank is closed.

3. An apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantities of a liquid, such as melted bituminous material or the like, comprising a movable tank for said liquid, means for weighing said tank and its liquid contents, said tank being provided with an apertured top, a stationary lift metering tank afl from contact with valve 23, thus releasing ny residual air pressure in that tank, after which the cycle just outlined may be repeated.

If desired, enlargement 23 could be outside of or above the cover plate l6 of tank l4, as in Figure 2, and, after the desired weight of liquid material such asasphalt was placed in that tank, it could be raised to contact the lower face of enlargement 23, to seal off the aperture 21 during the time air was being admitted to displace the liquid through pipes 25 and 26.

- Although a single form of this equipment and one mode of its operation have been illustrated, it is obvious that numerous changes could be made without departing from the invention, which appears to lie in the provision of a vertically movable weighing tank adapted to cooperate with a valve or other enlargement associated with means such as a stationary conduit extending downwardly into the tank through an opening in its cover, these acting to permit the liquid in the tank to be successively weighed and then discharged or displacedby means of air or other pressure fluid introduced into the tank conduit extending through said aperture into the lower portion of said tank, a valve member carried by said conduit and adapted to close said aperture when said tank is at a predetermined point in its travel, and means for admitting a pressure fluid above the liquid in said tank to displace said liquid outwardly through said conduit when said tankis closed.

4. Apparatus for dispensing predetermined quantities of a liquid, such as melted bituminous material or the like, comprising a tank having a cover, vertically movable support means for said tank, a weight-responsive scale connecting said tank with said support means, a

stationary conduit communicating with the lower portion of said tank and extending upwardly through an opening in the cover of said tank, a valve member on said conduit adapted to close said opening when said tank is moved to a predetermined position, and means for admitting a gas under pressure to said tank to displace liquid outwardly through said conduit when said valve is seated in said opening. I

. 5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which said valve means is effectiveto close said opening when said tank is lowered to a predetermined position.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which said valve means is effective to close said opening when said tank is raised to a predetermined position.

LLOYD BRYAN. 

